Stop importing Libyan oil, Senate Democrat urges

Sen. Gary Hart (D) of Colorado charged that US purchases of Libyan oil are helping keep Col. Muammar Qaddafi in power, and he ased Congress to put a stop to them by the end of 1982.

Senator Hart introduced a bill calling for an immediate $10-a-barrel import fee on Libyan oil and for cutting off all Libyan imports by Dec. 31 1982.

The continued import of Libyan oil, he said, would amount to "tacit US support for a terrorist government." He said the US imports 287,000 barrels of Libyan oil daily -- which is 48 percent of Libya's exports and only 5 percent of US imports.